stockholm convention on persistent organic pollutants.doc

STOCKHOLM CONVENTION ON PERSISTENTORGANIC POLLUTANTSThe Parties to this Convention,Recognizing that persistent organic pollutants possess toxic properties, resist degradation, bioaccumulate and are transported, through air, water and migratory species, across international boundaries and deposited far from their place of release, where they accumulate in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems,Aware of the health concerns, especially in developing countries, resulting from local exposure to persistent organic pollutants, in particular impacts upon women and, through them, upon future generations,Acknowledging that the Arctic ecosystems and indigenous communities are particularly at risk because of the biomagnification of persistent organic pollutants and that contamination of their traditional foods is a public health issue,Conscious of the need for global action on persistent organic pollutants,Mindful of decision 19/13 C of 7 February 1997 of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme to initiate international action to protect human health and the environment through measures which will reduce and/or eliminate emissions and discharges of persistent organic pollutants,Recalling the pertinent provisions of the relevant international environmental conventions, especially the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal including the regional agreements developed within the framework of its Article 11,Recalling also the pertinent provisions of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and Agenda 21,Acknowledging that precaution underlies the concerns of all the Parties and is embedded within this Convention,Recognizing that this Convention and other international agreements in the field of trade and the environment are mutually supportive,Reaffirming that States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction,Taking into account the circumstances and particular requirements of developing countries, in particular the least developed among them, and countries with economies in transition, especially the need to strengthen their national capabilities for the management of chemicals, including through the transfer of technology, the provision of financial and technical assistance and the promotion of cooperation among the Parties,Taking full account of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, adopted in Barbados on 6 May 1994,Noting the respective capabilities of developed and developing countries, as well as the common but differentiated responsibilities of States as set forth in Principle 7 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,Recognizing the important contribution that the private sector and non-governmental organizations can make to achieving the reduction and/or elimination of emissions and discharges of persistent organic pollutants,Underlining the importance of manufacturers of persistent organic pollutants taking responsibility for reducing adverse effects caused by their products and for providing information to users, Governments and the public on the hazardous properties of those chemicals,Conscious of the need to take measures to prevent adverse effects caused by persistent organic pollutants at all stages of their life cycle,Reaffirming Principle 16 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development which states that national authorities should endeavour to promote the internalization of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution, with due regard to the public interest and without distorting international trade and investment,Encouraging Parties not having regulatory and assessment schemes for pesticides and industrial chemicals to develop such schemes,Recognizing the importance of developing and using environmentally sound alternative processes and chemicals,Determined to protect human health and the environment from the harmful impacts of persistent organic pollutants,Have agreed as follows:Article 1ObjectiveMindful of the precautionary approach as set forth in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the objective of this Convention is to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants. Article 2DefinitionsFor the purposes of this Convention:(a)“Party” means a State or regional economic integration organization that has consented to be bound by this Convention and for which the Convention is in force;(b)“Regional economic integration organization” means an organization constituted by sovereign States of a given region to which its member States have transferred competence in respect of matters governed by this Convention and which has been duly authorized, in accordance with its internal procedures, to sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to this Convention;(c)“Parties present and voting” means Parties present and casting an affirmative or negative vote.Article 3Measures to reduce or eliminate releases fromintentional production and use1.Each Party shall:(a)Prohibit and/or take the legal and administrative measures necessary to eliminate:(i)Its production and use of the chemicals listed in Annex A subject to the provisions of that Annex; and (ii)Its import and export of the chemicals listed in Annex A in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2; and(b)Restrict its production and use of the chemicals listed in Annex B in accordance with the provisions of that Annex. 2.Each Party shall take measures to ensure:(a)That a chemical listed in Annex A or Annex B is imported only:(i)For the purpose of environmentally sound disposal as set forth in paragraph 1 (d) of Article 6; or(ii)For a use or purpose which is permitted for that Party under Annex A or Annex B; (b)That a chemical listed in Annex A for which any production or use specific exemption is in effect or a chemical listed in Annex B for which any production or use specific exemption or acceptable purpose is in effect, taking into account any relevant provisions in existing international prior informed consent instruments, is exported only:(i)For the purpose of environmentally sound disposal as set forth in paragraph 1 (d) of Article 6; (ii)To a Party which is permitted to use that chemical under Annex A or Annex B; or(iii)To a State not Party to this Convention which has provided an annual certification to the exporting Party. Such certification shall specify the intended use of the chemical and include a statement that, with respect to that chemical, the importing State is committed to: a.Protect human health and the environment by taking the necessary measures to minimize or prevent releases;b.Comply with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 6; andc.Comply, where appropriate, with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Part II of Annex B.The certification shall also include any appropriate supporting documentation, such as legislation, regulatory instruments, or administrative or policy guidelines. The exporting Party shall transmit the certification to the Secretariat within sixty days of receipt. (c)That a chemical listed in Annex A, for which production and use specific exemptions are no longer in effect for any Party, is not exported from it except for the purpose of environmentally sound disposal as set forth in paragraph 1 (d) of Article 6;(d)For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “State not Party to this Convention” shall include, with respect to a particular chemical, a State or regional economic integration organization that has not agreed to be bound by the Convention with respect to that chemical. 3.Each Party that has one or more regulatory and assessment schemes for new pesticides or new industrial chemicals shall take measures to regulate with the aim of preventing the production and use of new pesticides or new industrial chemicals which, taking into consideration the criteria in paragraph 1 of Annex D, exhibit the characteristics of persistent organic pollutants.4.Each Party that has one or more regulatory and assessment schemes for pesticides or industrial chemicals shall, where appropriate, take into consideration within these schemes the criteria in paragraph 1 of Annex D when conducting assessments of pesticides or industrial chemicals currently in use.5.Except as otherwise provided in this Convention, paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to quantities of a chemical to be used for laboratory-scale research or as a reference standard.6.Any Party that has a specific exemption in accordance with Annex A or a specific exemption or an acceptable purpose in accordance with Annex B shall take appropriate measures to ensure that any production or use under such exemption or purpose is carried out in a manner that prevents or minimizes human exposure and release into the environment. For exempted uses or acceptable purposes that involve intentional release into the environment under conditions of normal use, such release shall be to the minimum extent necessary, taking into account any applicable standards and guidelines.Article 4Register of specific exemptions1.A Register is hereby established for the purpose of identifying the Parties that have specific exemptions listed in Annex A or Annex B. It shall not identify Parties that make use of the provisions in Annex A or Annex B that may be exercised by all Parties. The Register shall be maintained by the Secretariat and shall be available to the public.2.The Register shall include:(a)A list of the types of specific exemptions reproduced from Annex A and Annex B;(b)A list of the Parties that have a specific exemption listed under Annex A or Annex B; and(c)A list of the expiry dates for each registered specific exemption.3.Any State may, on becoming a Party, by means of a notification in writing to the Secretariat, register for one or more types of specific exemptions listed in Annex A or Annex B.4.Unless an earlier date is indicated in the Register by a Party, or an extension is granted pursuant to paragraph 7, all registrations of specific exemptions shall expire five years after the date of entry into force of this Convention with respect to a particular chemical.5.At its first meeting, the Conference of the Parties shall decide upon its review process for the entries in the Register.6.Prior to a review of an entry in the Register, the Party concerned shall submit a report to the Secretariat justifying its continuing need for registration of that exemption. The report shall be circulated by the Secretariat to all Parties. The review of a registration shall be carried out on the basis of all available information. Thereupon, the Conference of the Parties may make such recommendations to the Party concerned as it deems appropriate.7.The Conference of the Parties may, upon request from the Party concerned, decide to extend the expiry date of a specific exemption for a period of up to five years. In making its decision, the Conference of the Parties shall take due account of the special circumstances of the developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition.8.A Party may, at any time, withdraw an entry from the Register for a specific exemption upon written notification to the Secretariat. The withdrawal shall take effect on the date specified in the notification.9.When there are no longer any Parties registered for a particular type of specific exemption, no new registrations may be made with respect to it.Article 5Measures to reduce or eliminate releasesfrom unintentional productionEach Party shall at a minimum take the following measures to reduce the total releases derived from anthropogenic sources of each of the chemicals listed in Annex C, with the goal of their continuing minimization and, where feasible, ultimate elimination:(a)Develop an action plan or, where appropriate, a regional or subregional action plan within two years of the date of entry into force of this Convention for it, and subsequently implement it as part of its implementation plan specified in Article 7, designed to identify, characterize and address the release of the chemicals listed in Annex C and to facilitate implementation of subparagraphs (b) to (e). The action plan shall include the following elements:(i)An evaluation of current and projected releases, including the development and maintenance of source inventories and release estimates, taking into consideration the source categories identified in Annex C;(ii)An evaluation of the efficacy of the laws and policies of the Party relating to the management of such releases;(iii)Strategies to meet the obligations of this paragraph, taking into account the evaluations in (i) and (ii);(iv)Steps to promote education and training with regard to, and awareness of, those strategies; (v)A review every five years of those strategies and of their success in meeting the obligations of this paragraph; such reviews shall be included in reports submitted pursuant to Article 15; (vi)A schedule for implementation of the action plan, including for the strategies and measures identified therein;(b)Promote the application of available, feasible and practical measures that can expeditiously achieve a realistic and meaningful level of release reduction or source elimination; (c)Promote the development and, where it deems appropriate, require the use of substitute or modified materials, products and processes to prevent the formation and release of the chemicals listed in Annex C, taking into consideration the general guidance on prevention and release reduction measures in Annex C and guidelines to be adopted by decision of the Conference of the Parties; (d)Promote and, in accordance with the implementation schedule of its action plan, require the use of best available techniques for new sources within source categories which a Party has identified as warranting such action in its action plan, with a particular initial focus on source categories identified in Part II of Annex C. In any case, the requirement to use best available techniques for new sources in the categories listed in Part II of that Annex shall be phased in as soon as practicable but no later than four years after the entry into force of the Convention for that Party. For the identified categories, Parties shall promote the use of best environmental practices. When applying best available techniques and best environmental practices, Parties should take into consideration the general guidance on prevention and release reduction measures in that Annex and guidelines on best available techniques and best environmental practices to be adopted by decision of the Conference of the Parties;(e)Promote, in accordance with its action plan, the use of best available techniques and best environmental practices:(i)For existing sources, within the source categories listed in Part II of Annex C and within source categories such as those in Part III of that Annex; and(ii)For new sources, within source categories such as those listed in Part III of Annex C which a Party has not addressed under subparagraph (d).When applying best available techniques and best environmental practices, Parties should take into consideration the general guidance on prevention and release reduction measures in Annex C and guidelines on best available techniques and best environmental practices to be adopted by decision of the Conference of the Parties;(f)For the purposes of this paragraph and Annex C:(i)“Best available techniques” means the most effective and advanced stage in the development of activities and their methods of operation which indicate the practical suitability of particular techniques for providing in principle the basis for release limitations designed to prevent and, where that is not practicable, generally to reduce releases of chemicals listed in Part I of Annex C and their impact on the environment as a whole. In this regard:(ii)“Techniques” includes both the technology used and the way in which the installation is designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned;(iii)“Available” techniques means those techniques that are accessible to the operator and that are developed on a scale that allows implementation in the relevant industrial sector, under economically and technically viable conditions, taking into consideration the costs and advantages; and(iv)“Best” means most effective in achieving a high general level of protection of the environment as a whole;(v)“Best environmental practices” means the application of the most appropriate combination of environmental control measures and strategies;(vi)“New source” means any source of which the construction or substantial modification is commenced at least one year after the date of: a.Entry into force of this Convention for the Party concerned; or b.Entry into